El Niño causes waves of ocean phenomenon that raise sea levels in California

California’s coast is bracing for a massive flood that could raise sea levels by a foot in the coming days, piling up on already degraded beaches and increasing the risk of flooding and erosion.

This wave, known as a “trapped coastal wave” or “Kelvin wave,” is one of the effects of El Niño that has developed along the California coast in recent weeks.

And this is no ordinary wave.

The Kelvin wave is a massive, sustained mass of water that will raise ocean levels over an area extending 12 to 18 miles offshore, with potentially serious consequences for the California coastline.

This follows a series of unusual ocean events that have hit coastal communities, including waves crashing onto the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu last month.

With California already facing a barrage of storms, rising waters could worsen flooding and erosion.

“The general rule of thumb is that every 2 to 4 inches of sea level rise that we see in this background state essentially doubles the risk of flooding,” Dillon Amaya, an oceanographer at North Carolina State University, told AFP.

Kelvin waves themselves are common. What makes the current situation particularly concerning is the combination of the wave with other factors already hitting California’s coasts.

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With these conditions building up, California could soon experience its highest sea levels on record, Mark Merrifield, director of the Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla, told the New York Times.

Sea temperatures are already high, while several Southern California beaches are facing erosion and recovering from the effects of recent hurricanes.

The Kelvin wave is both a cause and a symptom of El Niño, Amaya said.

As the huge mass of water moves across the Pacific, it removes cold water that normally rises from the ocean depths, helping to warm surface temperatures – a hallmark of El Niño.